New survey: Belief in the future among Swedish organic farmers 'image' News
New survey: Belief in the future among Swedish organic farmers

The Organic Farming Barometer is the first major survey to be conducted with a focus on organic farmers in Sweden.

Sifo has interviewed 600 Swedish organic farmers about their views on market development and the future of their business. The survey is designed by Ekologiska Lantbrukarna and Organic Sweden on behalf of the Swedish Board of Agriculture.

Half of the organic farmers view the profitability of their companies positively. This is a significantly larger share than in agriculture as a whole. In the survey carried out for the whole of Swedish agriculture on behalf of LRF Konsult, Swedbank and Sparbankerna, 34 percent of farmers view their profitability positively*.

- The Organic Agricultural Barometer shows that it is possible to have economics in value-added concepts with higher ambitions in the area of ​​environment and animal welfare. At the same time, profitability is not something that comes by itself. Profitability is also what most people state as a challenge for continued development, says Sofia Sollén-Norrlin Ekologiska Lantbrukarna.

Six out of ten organic farmers feel that they benefit quite or very much from organic and KRAVcertification for profitability and development. Larger milk and grain producers experience the most benefit from the certification, the smaller farms and those with beef and lamb production the least benefit. One third of organic farmers state that they plan to make significant investments in the next three years.

The majority of organic farmers (63%) believe that the processing industry will continue to be the most important sales channel within 5-10 years. More than one in four organic farmers believe in increased direct sales via farm shops, REKO rings and the Farmer's Market. On the other hand, only 18 per cent believe that exports will be important for their business.

- Among the dairy and grain farmers, there is a processed export work in the processing stage. More coordinated efforts are needed to promote the export of organic raw materials from all agriculture. Exports can contribute to long-term sales and stimulate increased production and product development, which also benefits the domestic market, says Charlotte Bladh André at Organic Sweden.

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Read the Organic Agricultural Barometer in its entirety, the report is attached as pdf.